Prisoners at a jail in north-eastern Brazil have taken about 100 people hostage during a riot.
Some 400 prisoners in Aracaju started a revolt over the weekend and are said to be armed with knives and three rifles stolen from a weapons room.
They accuse guards of mistreating them and want better conditions, as well as greater respect for female visitors.
Three of the hostages are guards, while the rest are relatives of prisoners, police say.
Some of the hostages are women and children who were visiting when the uprising started.
'Talks deadlocked' Originally about 130 people were taken hostage but 28 were released on Monday morning.
There are no reports of deaths or injuries so far, according to the Agencia Brasil news agency.
Prisoners accuse guards of committing abuses and say they will give a list of names to the local authorities.
A local police official, Captain Marcos Carvalho, AFP news agency the authorities had rejected the prisoners' demands and negotiations had hit an impasse.
More than 150 police officers have been sent to the facility in Sergipe state to deal with the crisis.
Overcrowding has become a major problem in Brazil's prisons. The Aracaju jail was built to house 2,000 people but is now holding approximately 4,000.


Article Source : BBC News

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